At first glance, he looks like he has walked off the set of a Blockbusters/Bullseye comeback crossover made just for Pride. But no, this is Perry, the colourful, hexagon-covered official mascot of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. And has the built environment ever played more of a role in the creation of a cartoon figurehead? First, Perry is named after Perry Barr, the region of Brum where the athletics will take place in the transformed Alexander Stadium. He is a bull because of the historic Bull Ring market and the modern Bullring shopping centre. And his gleaming medal is a nod to the city’s Jewellery Quarter, largest of its kind in Europe. Pretty good going, considering Perry was designed by a child. A future in real estate surely awaits 10-year old Emma Lou. She’s clearly going places, starting with Birmingham.
Build me up, Scotty
Housing minister Chris Pincher’s keynote speech at the MIPIM Leaders’ Perspectives Summit last week offered two major revelations. One, his declaration of support for BTR (www.egi.co.uk/news/housing-minister-declares-support-for-btr). Two, Pincher revealing himself to be a Trekkie. “If, like me, some of you can remember the first version of Star Trek,” he said, “you’ll probably remember that chief officer Scott used to like to grumble to Captain Kirk: ‘You cannae change the laws of physics’. It seems to me that the Enterprise might want to set a course for the UK property market to find that Mr Scott is wrong.” Pincher alludes to the fact we are building more homes now than at any time over the last 30 years… or at “warp speed”, as he might have put it.
Less chicken, more spinach?
Diary is all for more American F&B chains bringing their tasty wares to the UK market. Top of our list would be Peet’s Coffee, Waffle House and San Francisco’s incomparable Lori’s Diner. We’ve never been to a Popeyes, but welcome the news that the fried chicken purveyor plans to open 350 UK restaurants over the next decade. Now, our diligent research tells us that Popeyes is, disappointingly, no longer affiliated with the famous sailor man. Which might have something to do with its lack of confidence in being “strong to the finish”, judging by this disclaimer in the press release. It reads (in our minds, in a fast-talking radio voice): “This press release contains certain forward-looking statements and information which reflect management’s current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, initiatives and operating performance and speak only as of the date hereof. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include statements about our expectations regarding the ability of the Popeyes business in the UK to open the first Popeyes restaurant by the end of 2021 and hundreds of restaurants in the coming years; our expectations regarding our ability to replicate our successful international formula for British guests; and our expectations regarding whether the Popeyes launch into the UK market will lead to major investment in market-leading talent and digital innovation.” So, Popeyes fans, don’t count your fried chicken before it hatches.
This just in
Excitement builds as an e-mail arrives titled “CACI reveals the emergence of a new asset class significant to the capital post-pandemic”. A whole new asset class! Significant to the capital! What could it be? Apparently it is… mixed-use? According to CACI’s analysis, in just two years a total of 132 mixed-use schemes have delivered more than 1.2m sq ft of F&B and retail space to the capital – equivalent, it says, to half the total footprint of Westfield London (notably an already established mix of F&B and retail). “Now more than ever,” the e-mail says, “the offer provided to complement residential and office accommodation is increasingly important. According to CACI, it is vital ground floors are dedicated to an engaging mix of retail, F&B, leisure and community uses to create a sense of place that increases the desirability of the flats and offices above.” Diary can’t argue with any of that… but why has nobody mentioned this before?
WeWork: the movie
Real estate might just have its first must-see movie of the year, in the form of forthcoming documentary WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn. It is part of the SXSW 2021 film festival and debuts on the US network Hulu on 2 April, but who knows when it will arrive on these shores. In the meantime, we can enjoy the trailer (www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVAESeO7dgc) featuring snippets of the many talking heads who will be dishing the dirt on Adam Neumann and the, shall we say, tumultuous history of his company. There’s a famous scene in Marvel’s Avengers, where Tony Stark describes himself as “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist”. The trailer does something a little similar with Neumann, just with question marks: Entrepreneur? Impostor? Visionary? Crook? Billionaire? Con man? Genius? Fingers crossed, before long, we can watch the film and decide for ourselves.
